Chapter 47: You Must Have Many Worries as Well (2)
Chapter 47: You Must Have Many Worries as Well (2)
The banquet hall of Count Parmas’s estate.
The Count had thrown this banquet to commend the nobles who had answered his summons.
Exquisite dishes crowded the tables, and melodies played by musicians drifted through the air. Well-dressed servants attended to the nobles, ensuring the wine in their hands never ran dry.
Amidst the festivities, the nobles gathered in small groups, engaged in conversation.
“I heard your daughter has taken up horse riding recently.”
“I’ve heard the rumors as well. Apparently, riding is all the rage among the ladies in the capital these days.”
“Tsk, tsk. Noble young ladies wearing riding breeches… It’s quite scandalous, really.”
“Hahaha. It’s just a passing phase.”
“Ah, come to think of it, didn’t your son enroll in the Academy as well, Viscount?”
“Hahaha, he did. He was accepted into the Administration Department.”
“How wonderful. I’m quite envious.”
“Won’t he become a high-ranking official in the central government later?”
“Please, do share the secret to raising a child like that.”
“Hahaha. What did I do? It’s all the result of his own hard work.”
While the nobles disguised their bragging about their children and territories as casual conversation, Baron Schneider and Patrick stood off to the side, just the two of them.
Dressed in formal party attire and holding wine glasses, they stood awkwardly near the food tables.
Patrick thought to himself.
Ah… this isn't the kind of banquet I imagined.
There were plenty of delicious-looking dishes, but no one touched them for the sake of appearances. They were merely decorations.
Servants constantly refilled the glasses of the adults, but they didn't offer any to fifteen-year-old Patrick.
If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come.
Patrick sighed and took a sip of the grape juice in his hand.
Since he had never attended a noble’s banquet before, he’d had some expectations, but the disappointment was immense.
And above all…
“Father.”
“What is it?”
“Are you a loner?”
“Cough!”
Baron Schneider choked on his wine at his son’s question.
Nearly spraying wine out of his nose, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?”
“Well, everyone else is talking, but you’re just standing here by yourself, sipping wine. Based on logical deduction…”
“It’s just that our territory has little interaction with the surrounding lands, so I don’t know anyone.”
“Father.”
“What?”
“That’s exactly what a loner is.”
“……”
Baron Schneider wanted to cry.
He wanted to throw the banquet and everything else aside and go home to rest, but Count Parmas had not yet appeared. It would be rude to leave before the host arrived, so he had no choice but to stay.
“Announcing the arrival of Count Parmas!”
Fortunately, the host the Baron had been waiting for appeared before long.
With the servant’s announcement, Count Parmas entered through the main doors of the hall.
However, the true protagonist of this banquet was not the Count. It was the blonde young lady he was personally escorting.
The Count’s eyes overflowed with unmistakable affection as he looked at her, and his touch as he escorted her was full of tenderness.
As soon as she appeared, the eyes of the younger men in the hall changed instantly.
“Oh, the Lady of House Parmas is here.”
“She’s currently enrolled in the Academy; it’s a surprise she could make it.”
“She’s grown even more beautiful.”
Marianne Parmas.
The only daughter of the Parmas family, she was the true star of the evening.
If you were to ask the nobles of the Eastern Region, “Who is the most coveted bride?” one name would pop up without a second thought.
That was Marianne Parmas.
First of all, she was the beloved only daughter of Count Parmas. Since the Count was a widower with no sons, his daughter was effectively the next successor to the Parmas title.
Marrying her meant the Parmas County would follow.
That alone made her the ultimate bride, but that wasn't all.
Even setting aside her background, she was impressive in her own right. She had entered the Academy at the age of fourteen and was a brilliant student with excellent grades. With her dazzling blonde hair, blue eyes, and slender figure, anyone who saw her even once didn't hesitate to call her the greatest beauty of the East.
She was truly a woman of both beauty and brains, with a magnificent background to boot.
Every young noble in the East desperately wanted her.
Indeed, as soon as the Count appeared with her, the young men flocked toward her as if drawn by a magnet.
“It has been a long time. Do you remember me?”
“I am Terrin of the Romero Viscountcy. You have become breathtakingly beautiful.”
“I have composed a song for you, My Lady. Would you care to listen?”
It was like watching ants swarm over spilled sugar.
The Count subtly kept the young men at bay while looking around with a proud, satisfied expression.
Heh heh heh. As expected of my daughter. Even if you searched the entire Atronia Kingdom, let alone the East, would you find a woman more beautiful than her?
The Count felt that one well-raised daughter was worth more than ten sons. He was immensely proud of this moment, as his daughter commanded the entire hall just by existing.
Everyone in the banquet hall was focused on his glorious daughter at this moment.
Except for two people who were watching with utter indifference.
Huh? What’s wrong with those two?
What caught the Count’s eye was a father and son standing far off in the distance, looking perfectly composed.
“Aren't you going over?”
“Forget it. I’d rather just eat.”
“Tsk, tsk. Fortune favors the bold when it comes to beauties.”
“Munch, munch… First of all, she’s not really a beauty.”
“She’s plenty beautiful.”
“Think about Mother or April.”
“…Ah.”
That made sense.
One could tell at a glance that Marianne Parmas was quite beautiful. However, the Baron hadn't felt much of an impression, and he finally realized why.
It’s because my wife is ten times prettier.
Having been married to such a woman and living with her for decades, a girl like that wouldn't even register. But…
“I’m a married man, so I understand, but do you really feel nothing?”
“Nothing at all. Oh, this is good. What is this stuff on top of the bread?”
“It’s shark eggs.”
“Shark eggs? You can eat those?”
“Yes. Didn't you know?”
“I’ve never had them, so how would I know? Why haven't we eaten this before? It’s quite tasty.”
“Because it’s expensive.”
“I’d better eat a lot now, then.”
Seeing his son start to pile rye bread topped with caviar onto his plate, Baron Schneider sighed.
What an embarrassing brat.
Still, they were at a banquet; should a young man really be doing nothing but stuffing his face?
“Think about it carefully. Lady Marianne is famous as the greatest beauty in the East.”
“Eh, that’s just because of her family name.”
“What does family have to do with beauty?”
“It has everything to do with it. If a somewhat pretty girl comes from a powerful family, she’s bound to receive an unusual amount of praise from a young age.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m telling you. There’s a bit of flattery involved, and if people keep hearing it, they start to believe it’s true… Anyway, that’s how it works.”
In his past life, Patrick’s wife had been the greatest beauty of Sichuan.
But thinking back, the "Greatest Beauty of Sichuan" in the Martial World always came from either the Tang Clan or the Emei Sect. The "Greatest Beauty of Anhui" was almost always from the Namgung Clan, and seven out of ten "Greatest Beauties of Hubei" were from the Zhuge Clan.
Wow, now that I think about it, there was a serious problem with the standards for picking beauties in the Martial World. How many beauties were buried in obscurity because of that?
It was an unfair aspect of the Jianghu he had only just realized.
In any case, having been married to the greatest beauty of Sichuan in his past life and being surrounded by his stunning mother and a personal maid who was even more beautiful in this life, Patrick’s cold assessment of Marianne was…
“Well, she’s just okay.”
If Count Parmas had heard that, he would have shouted, “Off with that brat’s head!”
Let’s just eat. Eating is the only thing that lasts… Huh?
It was then. A strange sensation flickered through Patrick’s eyes.
“What is it?”
Baron Schneider asked cautiously. It was because his son was making an expression he had never seen before.
But Patrick couldn't answer the Baron. He stared intently at one spot and muttered.
“…Why is something like that here?”
* * *
For someone receiving the spotlight and attention at a banquet, praise is bound to pour in relentlessly.
Just like right now.
“Hahaha. You truly are amazing. To never have been held back a year at that Academy… I couldn't even dream of it.”
Yeah, I know. Because you’re an idiot.
“I bought a new carriage recently. It’s a handmade carriage crafted by a master from the Magellan Kingdom.”
So what? You little prick.
“My Lady, do you believe in destiny?”
Do your parents know you live like this?
Marianne smiled. She just kept smiling brightly.
The place was crawling with men whose intentions were transparent, and her father was beside her, intoxicated by a sense of superiority, thinking, How about it? Isn't my daughter beautiful?
She was enduring it out of a sense of filial duty, but she really wanted to scream at the guys stealing glances at her cleavage, “It’s obvious, so stop looking, you perverts!”
Actually, if she put herself in their shoes, it wasn't that she didn't understand.
Great family.
Pretty face.
Great body.
Smart.
If I were a man, I’d want to marry me too.
So, she understood the desperate actions of these young nobles. She understood, but…
That doesn't make it any less annoying, does it?
From those sending overly blatant gazes to those trying their luck just to see if they could land a prize they couldn't afford—none of them were to her liking.
In truth, everything they were doing was in vain. She had no intention of looking for a groom in the East in the first place.
A person should play in a bigger pond. I can’t be a frog in a well in the East forever.
She was an ambitious woman.
Even if they were the Parmas family, they were merely a Count’s family ruling over the most barren and dangerous land in the small Eastern nation of the Atronia Kingdom.
To her, having encountered a wider world while studying at the Academy, the positions these men so desperately craved seemed small.
That was why she intended to marry a noble from the central government, if possible. Or perhaps a foreign noble.
If she were to be even more ambitious, she wanted someone who would give her the opportunity to actively exercise her abilities.
A husband who would allow her to run a business using the knowledge she gained in the Academy’s Administration Department and the connections she had actively built in the capital’s social circles.
Even better, a husband who wouldn't be jealous but would be genuinely happy if she made a fortune.
In that sense, the men of the East were hopeless.
The East was a land carved out by men through blood and sweat from a barren wilderness. Consequently, there was a strong sense of patriarchal authority, and many would look down on her if she engaged in outside activities.
Even the men acting like they would pluck the stars from the sky for her right now would completely change their tune once they were married. They would undoubtedly expect her to only manage the household and the children’s education, barring her from the family’s external business.
So, everything you’re doing right now is a waste of time. Give up. And seriously, stop looking at my chest, you lot.
She was starting to get tired. Marianne let out a small sigh and spoke.
“Father, I’m feeling a bit tired. Would it be alright if I went in to rest early?”
“Hmm, are you feeling very unwell?”
“The long carriage ride was a bit much, I suppose.”
“I see. Your health is more important than anything. Go and rest.”
“Thank you, Father.”
And before leaving, she gave her father a small peck on the cheek. It was a bit of a childish display of affection for a grown daughter, but…
“Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho…”
Since he liked it so much, she had no choice but to do it.
She gave a small smirk and prepared to return to her room to rest.
And the moment she stepped away from the Count’s side and moved alone…